广西水稻地方品种耐冷性鉴定及相关分析

对419份广西水稻地方品种初级核心种质进行芽期、苗期的耐冷性鉴定及相关分析,结果表明:广西水稻地方品种芽期、苗期耐冷性主要集中在7级和9级,总体耐冷性较弱。芽期、苗期极强耐冷种质(1级)分别为24份和27份,占参试总数的5.73%和6.44%,其中10份种质芽期和苗期均表现极强耐冷(1级)。芽期、苗期耐冷性呈极显著正相关(r=0.66)。粳稻芽期、苗期耐冷性均显著高于籼稻;粘糯稻之间耐冷性差异是由籼粳稻类型的耐冷差异引起的;来自高寒山区稻作区的品种芽期和苗期平均耐冷表现最强。利用34个SSR标记与芽期、苗期耐冷性进行Pearson相关分析,在第7和第9染色体上,各鉴定出1个同时与芽期和苗期耐冷性相关联的位点。本研究为水稻芽期、苗期耐冷育种提供新的抗源材料,并为水稻耐冷基因定位及机理研究奠定基础。     

The causes of variation in the presence of genetic covariance between sexual traits and preferences

Mating traits and mate preferences often show patterns of tight correspondence across populations and species. These patterns of apparent coevolution may result from a genetic association between traits and preferences (i.e. trait–preference genetic covariance). We review the literature on trait–preference covariance to determine its prevalence and potential biological relevance. Of the 43 studies we identified, a surprising 63% detected covariance. We test multiple hypotheses for factors that may influence the likelihood of detecting this covariance. The main predictor was the presence of genetic variation in mate preferences, which is one of the three main conditions required for the establishment of covariance. In fact, 89% of the nine studies where heritability of preference was high detected covariance. Variables pertaining to the experimental methods and type of traits involved in different studies did not greatly influence the detection of trait–preference covariance. Trait–preference genetic covariance appears to be widespread and therefore represents an important and currently underappreciated factor in the coevolution of traits and preferences.     

High-level phenotypic variations in populations of Armeniaca sibirica in Nei Mongol,China

Aims Our objectives were to determine the variations in phenotypic traits of Armeniaca sibirica populations and their spatial patterns. Methods We used nested variation, coefficient of variation, multi-comparison, correlation analysis and principal component analysis to analyze the 23 phenotypic traits for 130 individuals in 13 populations of A. sibirica. Important findings The results showed that there were significant differences in phenotypic variations among and within populations. The variation was greater among populations (47.15%) than within population (16.43%). The mean phenotypic differentiation coefficient was 73.03% among populations, indicating the variance among populations being the main source of the phenotypic variation. The average variation coefficient of 23 traits ranged from 7.01% to 27.23%, with an average of 14.28%. The variation coefficient of nutlet was highest (15.67%), and the variation coefficient of fruit was smallest (12.11%). The phenotypic diversity is highest in Wanjiagou Tumotezuoqi and smallest in Horqin, Right Front Banner Chaersen. Longitude, mean annual precipitation and sunshine duration were significantly correlated with major traits of phenotypic. The 13 populations could be divided into four groups according to the principal component analysis. Leaf traits of Wula Mountain and nutlet traits of Archorchin Banner were significantly correlated with ecological and geographic factors.     

桂西南喀斯特季节性雨林枯立木的空间格局及生境关联性分析

枯立木是森林生态系统物质循环和能量流动的重要组成部分,对森林群落动态和演替具有重要作用。该研究以位于桂西南的弄岗北热带喀斯特季节性雨林15 hm~2森林动态监测样地为平台,以样地中2011年第一次植被调查数据胸径(diameter at breast height,DBH)≥1 cm的枯立木为研究对象,在充分考虑空间自相关的基础上分析其不同径级(小径级,1 cm≤DBH5 cm;中径级,5 cm≤DBH15 cm;大径级,15 cm≤DBH)的空间分布格局、枯立木多度与环境因子的相关性及生境关联性等。结果表明:枯立木所有个体和小径级分别在0~4 m和0~5 m尺度上表现为聚集分布,其它尺度为随机分布;中径级和大径级在0~30 m尺度上均为随机分布。大径级与凹凸度表现为显著负相关,所有个体和小径级与干旱度指数和样方内所有植株个体数为显著正相关,所有个体和小径级与样方内最大胸径和平均胸径呈显著负相关。所有个体和小径级与3种生境类型间的关联性并不显著;中径级与山坡呈正关联性、与山脊呈负关联性、与山谷无显著关联性;大径级与山谷呈正关联性、与山坡无显著关联性、与山脊呈负关联性。在喀斯特季节性雨林中,枯立木空间分布格局总体表现为随机分布,仅小径级在小尺度内聚集分布,而较大径级在样地中表现出一定的生境关联性;树木死亡过程可能是小尺度内密度制约、大尺度内生境过滤和个体自然衰老等生态学过程形成的。     

Sex‐specific plasticity and genotype × sex interactions for age and size of maturity in the sheepshead swordtail,Xiphophorus birchmanni

Responses to sexually antagonistic selection are thought to be constrained by the shared genetic architecture of homologous male and female traits. Accordingly, adaptive sexual dimorphism depends on mechanisms such as genotype‐by‐sex interaction (G×S) and sex‐specific plasticity to alleviate this constraint. We tested these mechanisms in a population of Xiphophorus birchmanni (sheepshead swordtail), where the intensity of male competition is expected to mediate intersexual conflict over age and size at maturity. Combining quantitative genetics with density manipulations and analysis of sex ratio variation, we confirm that maturation traits are dimorphic and heritable, but also subject to large G×S. Although cross‐sex genetic correlations are close to zero, suggesting sex‐linked genes with important effects on growth and maturation are likely segregating in this population, we found less evidence of sex‐specific adaptive plasticity. At high density, there was a weak trend towards later and smaller maturation in both sexes. Effects of sex ratio were stronger and putatively adaptive in males but not in females. Males delay maturation in the presence of mature rivals, resulting in larger adult size with subsequent benefit to competitive ability. However, females also delay maturation in male‐biased groups, incurring a loss of reproductive lifespan without apparent benefit. Thus, in highly competitive environments, female fitness may be limited by the lack of sex‐specific plasticity. More generally, assuming that selection does act antagonistically on male and female maturation traits in the wild, our results demonstrate that genetic architecture of homologous traits can ease a major constraint on the evolution of adaptive dimorphism.     

Multivariate selection and intersexual genetic constraints in a wild bird population

When selection differs between the sexes for traits that are genetically correlated between the sexes, there is potential for the effect of selection in one sex to be altered by indirect selection in the other sex, a situation commonly referred to as intralocus sexual conflict (ISC). While potentially common, ISC has rarely been studied in wild populations. Here, we studied ISC over a set of morphological traits (wing length, tarsus length, bill depth and bill length) in a wild population of great tits (Parus major) from Wytham Woods, UK. Specifically, we quantified the microevolutionary impacts of ISC by combining intra‐ and intersex additive genetic (co)variances and sex‐specific selection estimates in a multivariate framework. Large genetic correlations between homologous male and female traits combined with evidence for sex‐specific multivariate survival selection suggested that ISC could play an appreciable role in the evolution of this population. Together, multivariate sex‐specific selection and additive genetic (co)variance for the traits considered accounted for additive genetic variance in fitness that was uncorrelated between the sexes (cross‐sex genetic correlation = ?0.003, 95% CI = ?0.83, 0.83). Gender load, defined as the reduction in a population's rate of adaptation due to sex‐specific effects, was estimated at 50% (95% CI = 13%, 86%). This study provides novel insights into the evolution of sexual dimorphism in wild populations and illustrates how quantitative genetics and selection analyses can be combined in a multivariate framework to quantify the microevolutionary impacts of ISC.     

Strong sexual selection in males against a mutation load that reduces offspring production in seed beetles

Theory predicts that sexual reproduction can increase population viability relative to asexual reproduction by allowing sexual selection in males to remove deleterious mutations from the population without large demographic costs. This requires that selection acts more strongly in males than females and that mutations affecting male reproductive success have pleiotropic effects on population productivity, but empirical support for these assumptions is mixed. We used the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus to implement a three‐generation breeding design where we induced mutations via ionizing radiation (IR) in the F₀ generation and measured mutational effects (relative to nonirradiated controls) on an estimate of population productivity in the F₁ and effects on sex‐specific competitive lifetime reproductive success (LRS) in the F₂. Regardless of whether mutations were induced via F₀ males or females, they had strong negative effects on male LRS, but a nonsignificant influence on female LRS, suggesting that selection is more efficient in removing deleterious alleles in males. Moreover, mutations had seemingly shared effects on population productivity and competitive LRS in both sexes. Thus, our results lend support to the hypothesis that strong sexual selection on males can act to remove the mutation load on population viability, thereby offering a benefit to sexual reproduction.